Gather 'round and I'll share with you the secret to winterizing all your power equipment...

The secret is... make sure to store it in the corner of the garage so you don't trip over it all winter! I've never been able to find a difference between storing OPE with a full tank of gas, 1/2 tank of gas, running it dry, storing it with the fancy engineered fuel, running it dry on engineered fuel and putting it away, running Stabil through it, filling the tank with a gas/Stabil mix and putting it away, or any other procedure. I never have problems in the spring and I never have to do anything but preventative maintenance. My family's equipment, however, keeps me busy.

I fill the tank and pull the engine over to top dead center to close the valves then push what ever ope out of the way. They start up right away. I have a pressure washer I didn't use for 3 years and after about ten pulls I drained the float bowl and the gas looked like oil when it drained out . After draining the float bowl the engine fired up after about 3 pulls and ran fine that was with the 3 year old gas. Marketing works well.

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Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity, we shall prevail

Gather 'round and I'll share with you the secret to winterizing all your power equipment...

The secret is... make sure to store it in the corner of the garage so you don't trip over it all winter! I've never been able to find a difference between storing OPE with a full tank of gas, 1/2 tank of gas, running it dry, storing it with the fancy engineered fuel, running it dry on engineered fuel and putting it away, running Stabil through it, filling the tank with a gas/Stabil mix and putting it away, or any other procedure. I never have problems in the spring and I never have to do anything but preventative maintenance. My family's equipment, however, keeps me busy.

Tell that to the technician at the lawn mower repair shop, he'll make sure to have a new carb on hand for you. Ethanol will ruin a carb quick from sitting, it will attract moisture from the air and the fuel will break down and you'll need a new carb. They see it all the time after a power outage, generators that were shoved in the corner of the garage and forgotten about until needed, they won't run. At the very least install a fuel shut off valve in the fuel line and run the carb dry.

You're purposely comparing apples to oranges. OP asked about outdoor power equipment. Generators are a little different because a certain percentage of people will let them sit for years, not months like a lawnmower. A carb will not be ruined in a few months.

Never have and I dont plan on starting. Never ran into any issue on any OPE with the cylinder rusting. I remember finding this old riding mower in a junk pile some years ago. The fuel tank was rotting away, the metal was rusted through as well. It was ancient and eft in the elements for must be over 20 years by my guess. I turned the flywheel over by hand. It turned and felt smooth.

In all the small and medium engines I ripped apart over the years and there have been lots of barn finds, scrapyard finds, the only cylinder I ever found rust in was the old 440 block that was stripped bare and sat on a shop floor for a few decades.

I've never fogged OPE, and I've been working on them for 14 years on the side and never fogged any customer equipment. If I knew it was being stored for a few years I might squirt some Marvel Mystery Oil or Transmission fluid into the cylinder and rotate the engine over.

I do it for my snow blowers because they only get used about 2 months out of the year.

I use Sta-bil fogging oil because the aerosol makes it convenient. I have heard of people using MMO, WD-40, Motor oil, 2 stroke oil, ATF, Gun lubes and almost anything oily. If I didn't have the Stabil fogging oil, I would probably use 2 stroke oil because it is fairly thick and sticky and should be safe and compatible with the rest of the engine components.